


As Long As You're Safe

by winterune



Series: The Price of Freedom: Zack Week 2020 [3]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)
Genre: Family, Family Feels, Feels, Gen, Zack Fair Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26654851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterune/pseuds/winterune
Summary: [Zack Fair Week 2020]After their first trip to the Nibelheim reactor, Zack accompanies Cloud to visit his mother.
Relationships: Zack Fair & Cloud Strife
Series: The Price of Freedom: Zack Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937266
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	As Long As You're Safe

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for Zack Fair Week 2020 Day 3: Friendship/Love/Family
> 
> Unbeta'd and only slightly edited. This was inspired by the mails Zack received in Nibelheim, in which Cloud asked Zack to come with him to visit his mother. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> It was tempting to write Zerith, but the Family prompt won me lol

Cloud still lay on the bed when Zack returned to their room at the inn that afternoon. His friend had his head turned toward the window, watching the sky ablaze in deep red and orange, the last stretches of sunlight before it set beyond the peaks of Mount Nibel. Wisps of cloud drifted past, silhouettes of birds gliding among them. There was a sort of longing in the way Cloud gazed at the sky—a sort of deflated sigh as his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Or maybe it wasn’t the sky he was looking at? Zack followed Cloud’s line of sight and found himself looking at the village water tower just visible beyond the windows.

He had heard it was a famous dating spot.

 _Do you know Tifa?_ Zack had asked him.

_Sort of._

_Talked to her?_

_No._

When he learned that Cloud would be going with him to Nibelheim, Zack had thought the guy would be ecstatic. Even Sephiroth had permitted him to visit family and friends. But then Cloud had stayed at the inn, standing guard with the other infantryman, never showing any signs of taking his helmet off. Not that it had been any of Zack’s business, but when he noticed his friend becoming mute every time a villager drew near, he couldn’t help but think it…odd. Because if _he_ were in Cloud’s shoes and he was back in Gongaga…

Zack cast his eyes down, leaning against the doorway and folding his arms across his chest. If he were back in Gongaga, he’d go to his parents’ house first thing and he’d announce, “Mom! Dad! I made it!”

“Zack?”

The abrupt call broke through his reverie and he looked to see Cloud staring at him. The exhaustion was gone. He’d protected Tifa back at the reactor and the latter had helped him get down the mountain. Now both of them were worried about the other. Zack wanted to chuckle at this cute little observation. 

“So,” Zack began. “When are you gonna go to your Mom’s?”

Cloud blinked several times before he recalled the invitation he had offered Zack—to come over to his house and try his Mom’s cooking. Zack had recognized the face of someone who hadn’t been home for years and hadn’t sent any word.

“It’s as good a time as any,” he went on. “Sephiroth’s locked himself in the mansion and I’ve got nothing else to do.” His gaze fell on Cloud, a tiny teasing grin creeping across his face. “And _you_ haven’t gone to see your Mom, right?”

* * *

Cloud’s house was the small cottage at the edge of the village, on the opposite side of the inn, beyond the water tower. It was easily recognizable from the little flower garden at the front. Beside it was a two-story building that looked like a house, at which Zack noticed Cloud steering clear of, even going as far as ducking his helmeted head every time someone passed them or called for another.

“You nervous?” Zack asked.

“Yeah.” Cloud’s voice was small and quiet, his shoulders drawn as if he wanted to disappear.

“You’d stand out more if you walked like that,” he whispered. “Stand tall, and proud.”

“But…” Cloud’s feet dragged across the barren, sandy ground. “I failed.”

“They don’t know that.”

“My mom will.”

Zack glanced at his young, dejected friend. “Is your mom the type who holds you in high expectations?”

“No.”

“Then everything’s alright, right?”

Cloud pressed his lips together but didn’t say anything else.

Each step drew them nearer toward the door until their feet finally stopped and Cloud drew a shuddering breath. He looked up at Zack, who gave him an encouraging nod, before lifting his hand and knocked three times. They heard the call almost immediately. Zack gave Cloud’s shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze, drawing back his hand when the door swung open.

A woman stood there, dressed in a brown shirt and white apron, her blond hair tied to a ponytail. She looked like an older, female version of Cloud. For a fraction of a second, Zack could imagine what Cloud would look like in his early thirties.

“Can I help you?” the woman said when none of them said anything.

“Ah! Yes, hello, I’m—” Zack spared Cloud a glance. His friend had turned to stone. “—with the company that arrived here the other day.”

“Oh, the SOLDIERs checking on the reactor?” Cloud’s mother pushed the door wider, wiping her hands on her apron and straightening her back. A bright smile graced her lips. “What can I do for you?”

Zack relaxed at her welcome. He told her his name and asked if she was Mrs. Strife. She blinked. Even the surprised gesture looked similar. Zack refrained himself from smiling. But as she tilted her head to the side, her eyes suddenly widened around the edges and horror filled her face.

“Cloud? Is it something about Cloud? Do you know my Cloud?”

Her sudden outburst took him by surprise. Zack hadn’t expected the notion of Cloud would send his mother on a frenzy panic.

“He’s not hurt, is he?” she went on. “I haven’t heard from him for years! I thought he’d come when I heard SOLDIERs would be coming, but apparently he didn’t, and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking the worst—”

Zack didn’t quite know what to do or what to say. Who was he to say anything about it? He hadn’t gone home for longer than Cloud had been away and the only word he’d sent his parents was a letter a few months back. Zack moved—to do what he didn’t quite know—console her? Pat her back? Assure her that no, her son was fine and healthy, and in fact, he was right there in front of her, too embarrassed to show his own face.

But Cloud got to her first when he called her “Mom”, his voice quiet but firm. Mrs. Strife looked up at the infantryman beside him. Zack could hear the smile on Cloud’s voice when his friend said, “Mom, I’m home.”

Mrs. Strife knitted her brows. She might be about to say, “What?” from the way her mouth opened, but then she narrowed her sky-blue eyes, and she stepped closer to scrutinize the grunt’s face. Zack witnessed the moment she gasped, tears welling in her eyes, as she said, “Cloud?” Cloud didn’t get the chance to answer before she threw her arms around him in a bone-crunching hug.

* * *

She ushered them inside and Zack introduced himself as a SOLDIER 1st Class who accompanied Sephiroth on this mission to check on the reactor. Mrs. Strife knew about Sephiroth. Of course, she did. Her son had idolized the hero for years before deciding to go to Midgar two years prior. _Look at you, all grown up_ , she said. Cloud brushed her off saying it had only been two years, to which his mother countered that it _had_ been two years.

Zack stood a ways away, watching this teasing banter between mother and son. Mrs. Strife noted the clothes Cloud wore, different from the ones Zack and Sephiroth donned. The same one as the guard who stood on his post in front of the inn. Cloud gave her a bitter smile and said, his voice quiet, “I didn’t make it.” There was a pause that stretched for one second longer, but then Mrs. Strife smiled a soft understanding smile and told her son that as long as he was safe, that was all she had ever hoped for.

As long as he was safe…

The words made him pause. Zack had never thought about that. Maybe that was how mothers were. No matter how long their sons had been away, they’d still wait, hoping to receive good news that their sons were alive and healthy. Would his parents say the same if he were to appear on their doorstep unannounced—bigger, older, much more different from the thirteen-year-old boy who had left Gongaga five years ago? His voice had changed. His appearance more so. Would they even recognize him?

“Good thing I made stew today,” Mrs. Strife said. Her bright smile was back. Then her eyes fell on Zack. “I planned to give some to you and the others at the inn, but well, since you’re here now, that can wait for another time.” She turned around on her heels and headed for the kitchen where a steaming pot lay over the stove. “How exciting! A welcome-back party for Cloud!”

“Mom, you don’t have to—”

“Oh, nonsense! Let a mother spoil her son.” She looked over her shoulder, her grin radiant. “Take a seat, Zack. I hope you’ll love it.”

A few feet away, Cloud, who had taken off his helmet, grunted, his face red with mortification. He looked at Zack and gave him an embarrassed chuckle.

“Sorry, Mom can be a bit…”

And Zack couldn’t help but laugh. Because despite Cloud’s reservations and nervousness at the prospect of meeting his mother, meeting any of the townspeople, Zack could still feel his excitement at having been back at his hometown. A luxury he couldn’t say he ever had. _See,_ he wanted to say, _everything’s alright._ Zack grinned at the blush coloring Cloud’s cheeks.

“Let’s eat, Cloud.”

**~ END ~**

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it :D Feel free to leave kudos/comments if you find the fic to your liking :) Thanks!!


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